William Tirrell, the former head of regulatory reporting at Merrill Lynch, negligently caused the firm to violate securities rules, the SEC said in an order Friday. The regulator ordered Tirrell to “cease and desist” from any future transgressions.

“The terms of the settlement -- no fine, no suspension, no penalty -- speaks for itself,” Steven Witzel, Tirrell’s attorney, said in an emailed statement. “After four years of investigation by the SEC, Mr. Tirrell is more than ready to put this matter behind him and move on with his life.”